Bootstrap or Venture Capital investors?

Maybe you agree Uber’s valuation deserves to be better than Delta Airlines. But even the VC’s believe private market valuations are in bubble territory. The VC model may be reaching its limit in the current investment cycle. Maybe the best way to grow a business now is organically. Consider how resilient the ‘sim city’ model is:

After GigaOm, The Non-VC “SimCity” Approach To Growing A Media Business By Danny Sullivan

I can’t speak with any authority about why GigaOm suddenly ran out of money. But I’ve already seen the rumblings about what it may mean for other tech and vertical publications. Are they also likely in trouble? I’d submit if they’ve taken lots of VC money, yes. But if they’re bootstrapped or following what I call the “SimCity” model of growing, probably not.

Third Door Media started in late 2006. It never took investment. We grew our staff as our revenue grew, according to our business plans. In 2008, when the world economy crashed, we hunkered down and came through without losing people. In part, this was because we’d been careful not to over-extend, not to build a large operation beyond what it could support with native revenue.